Liturgical seasons can come without much notice unless we intentionally engage with them and put in some effort to benefit from their blessings. Our culture is notorious for enabling frantic busyness during the month of December, all for the sake of the big event on Christmas morning. Fat Tuesday is an excuse for a party of self-indulgence foreshadowing the big meal on Easter with a nod to God from experiencing another temporary stirring of our emotions with a stunning performance of the Hallelujah Chorus. But what can happen in between? How can we truly embrace the profound miracle of the Incarnation if we haven’t first encountered the prophetic revelations of the Old Testament and identified with the people of Israel as they waited expectantly for the coming Messiah? Or how can we internalize the necessity of Jesus’ death and resurrection without examining the human condition, our own as well as the world’s?

Lent is a liturgical season that seems less fun because of the assumption we are supposed to give up something for its duration until Holy Week. However, the season of Lent can be a great benefit. The purpose of the discipline of taking away something is that it serves as a reality check to see what in our life has taken such a hold of us that we are convinced we could not live without it, thus allowing it to become an idol. There are things we enjoy, habits we have allowed into our lives, and desires that plead for satisfaction. They may not necessarily all be bad things, but are they so important we cannot live without them,  especially the less desirable ones?

Perhaps we don’t only need to give up something but add something. We could decide that we might finally read one of those Christian classics such as The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Imitation of Christ, or some other spiritual work. We might add more time to our daily schedule for prayer and devotion. We might choose a work of service. Whether we take away or add during Lent, the purpose is not to impose an obligatory practice in a legalistic or ritualistic sense. Rather, we adopt a helpful and meaningful discipline that we can permanently incorporate into our lives beyond the season of Lent.

What is most important is that we take advantage of the liturgical seasons for the reasons they were intended and that we truly internalize to the depth of our souls the tremendous truths of the gospel:

  • God intervened in human history by being present in the person of Jesus Christ.
  • He revealed himself more completely in Jesus.
  • He took care of our sin problem through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Liturgical seasons bless us in this way. Suppose we intentionally engage them and put in the effort. We then can hear the stunning performance of the Hallelujah Chorus and not simply experience momentary engorgement of the senses and a temporary stirring of emotions. Instead, we receive the message of truth that has eternal consequences. Liturgical seasons are not ends but profound ways of leading us closer to God.

by Pastor Steven Grant